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This would show the last known table schema and data that was shown, but would allow to make records and sync when the mobile device comes back online. Issues would be resolved via the web to validate issues.
I’ve worked in IT for 45 years (yes - 45 years! www.roysheridan.com) and Airtable is one of the most elegant and well-thought-through applications I have ever come across. It’s a joy to use, which makes the lack of offline capability only more frustrating, as witnessed by the volume of contributions to this thread. I also understand the challenges of conflict resolution. Which is why the problem needs to be segmented…
The majority of contributors use Airtable solo and would be happy with read-only. Therefore, Howie and Katharine, you should address this segment first and as a priority, thus satisfying the 80:20 rule. A more sophisticated solution can follow. Currently, no-one is happy and - believe me - you are losing business.
How would you want to use Airtable offline?
I have implemented a system for managing all aspects of a small vacation rental property business and it has made my life (and my accountant’s!) a lot easier. I would like to have a system for managing all my contacts and to-dos as I have yet to find an integrated system that does a good enough job (Apple’s products are pathetic in this area). But I would have to have offline access (e.g. when travelling).
Do you use Airtable alone, or with collaborators?
Alone
How much do you need to be able to do in Airtable while offline?
I would prefer to be able to update, but read-only will do. Don’t need to change structure.
How tolerant would you be of having to resolve merge conflicts manually?
Single-user with no structural changes should not create any conflicts!
Would you primarily be using offline mode on desktop or mobile?
Both.
How would you want to use Airtable offline?
I travel to remote places all over the world. I would use offline Airtable on a mobile device and on a laptop. Much project information is needed to be shared back with my associates.
Do you use Airtable alone, or with collaborators?
While there might be many users who would read Airtable data (either online or offline), probably no more than 5 or 10 would actually edit data, and only 1 or 2 would actually change the schema (though very unlikely to edit schema offline).
How much do you need to be able to do in Airtable while offline?
Read the data frequently.
Edit the data occasionally. However, I would be willing to forego editing in offline mode, if I could make notes on a record so that I could edit later when online. I would want some way to easily see a list of all notes made offline so I could do the edits later online. [This could be another table “Comments” with the fields “Table” for the table needing the edit, “Field” for the field needing edits, “Change” for what you intend to change, and “Completed” for marking that you’ve done it. You could probably get fancy and automatically create a link from the “Table” and “Field” fields back to the place the user intends to update.]
Add records frequently. It seems that I should be able to add a new record off-line without disturbing the base. (Granted there may be some trigger issues… but I think you could treat this as a record added when a user is back online)
How tolerant would you be of having to resolve merge conflicts manually?
Willing to do this if necessary. However, the notes feature above relieves both Airtable and myself from much of the problem.
Would you primarily be using offline mode on desktop or mobile?
Both
I need off-line access, as I’m at the point where I’m going to need to use another solution. I’m often in areas with no internet connection, and I’m trying to get adoption from colleagues, but they too are in places where they’re off-line, and it is frustrating to have spent 30 minutes updating to discover that most of the changes have not been saved. Build into the software they need to have a timed token of offline use (say seven days), and then after that, they need to go online.
How would you want to use Airtable offline?
I’m a Parish administrator at a large urban church. I’m using airtables as our main database and directory of Parishioners. For it to be usable for the Priest when she is traveling around to see people, she needs to be able to read and search records for phone number/address etc while offline. All of the editing and merge features would be great, but we could get by with just being able to view and search the last saved copy.
Do you use Airtable alone, or with collaborators?
I’m the sole editor but other people are able to view the bases or certain views in the bases and need to be able to view while offline.
How much do you need to be able to do in Airtable while offline?
I need to be able to read and search the bases. Editing would be nice but isn’t mandatory for usability.
For how long do you need to be able to use Airtable offline?
Ideally being able to see the bases offline for up to a month without wifi would be great, I think all of the users connect to wifi daily or nearly daily so if it was only daily that would probably also work.
How tolerant would you be of having to resolve merge conflicts manually?
It would be fine because I’m the only one editing most of the time.
Would you primarily be using offline mode on desktop or mobile?
Mobile
I just found Airtable and after looking around at other options, I REALLLY want to implement this for our business.
We work on an aircraft and we need contact information for 1000’s of numbers across Canada to communicate within our company and others. We currently use a brutal microsoft access database that is such a pain, and requires a laptop to work. Airtable is THE PERFECT solution if it had a read-only access mode through the iOS apps. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE implement this feature or someone reading this please show me an app with the functionality of airtable that has offline capabilities.
I should point out that offline access is potentially even more important on non-mobile devices. The main situation I run into a lot is being on a flight and needing to update some bases but being unable to.
A solution is to use a cached offline database, so all modifications are made offline and later synced with the cloud. This is Afaik also how it works with Trello, Evernote etc.
Another idea is to cache the changed DOM elements on the client and sync them later with the cloud/database. This could work with using json to serialize the data and write them to a file.
Because this is a very often used feature by a lot of apps, I think some researching will show different/easier solutions for this offline caching of data on Android/iOS.
I think this offline caching is only important on mobile devices, where the chance is big that you have no internet connection. So it needs only implemented in the Android/iOS apps.
How would you want to use Airtable offline?
i work with colleagues who track diseases. We use a database that is used in all sorts of configurations based on the disease. In some situations we have server-client-web model where lots of people enter and update data through a browser to a database in the cloud. But in some situations, there is no coverage and no network. Maybe it’s for days, maybe just hours. But data are entered while offline and then synchronized when back on the grid. This is typically done by running a client on a laptop or tablet with all data stored locally. When you have 5 people working on a single database, synchronizing them can be quite challenging. For example, person 1 gets back in signal on Mondays, person 2 on Tuesdays, etc. They all have to push and pull and resolve conflicts. Typically they don’t work on each others records, but it happens sometimes.
To add to this, I sometimes have a data manager who is working on quality issues related to all the workers data. So being able to edit and track versions is important. (eg, someone entered a symptoms date in the future)
So I would want to read, add, and edit records offline.
Do you use Airtable alone, or with collaborators?
Usually with collaborators.
How much do you need to be able to do in Airtable while offline?
Read and search. Make adds and limited edits.
For how long do you need to be able to use Airtable offline?
As long as my local device has memory and disk. Typically only a few days, but could last for long periods of time.
How tolerant would you be of having to resolve merge conflicts manually?
This is fine.
Would you primarily be using offline mode on desktop or mobile?
Desktop, but willing to switch to mobile if it helps.
I REALLY hope I am wrong, but seeing the lack of answers from Airtable’s employees on this topic makes me wonder if they care about addressing offline mode at all.
Probably more a business model decision than a technical one I suspect.
Still, it’s VERY unfortunate. And again, I really hope I’m wrong here.
Thank you Airtable for this fabulous software you’re bringing to us. Please make it even better. Would gladly subscribe for a pro plan with offline mode !
